As we noted in First Thoughts, Newt Gingrich on Meet the Press acknowledged his past support for an individual health-insurance mandate:
“I agree that all of us have a responsibility to help pay for health care. And I think that there are ways to do it that make most libertarians relatively happy. I've said consistently, where there's some requirement you either have health insurance or you post a bond or in some way you indicate you're going to be held accountable.”
But now Gingrich is walking that back. In a video posted on his Web site, he says:
"I am completely opposed to the Obamacare mandate on individuals. I fought it for two and half years at the Center for Health Transformation. You can see all the things we did to stop it at HealthTransformation.net. I am for the repeal of Obamacare and I am against any effort to impose a federal mandate on anyone because it is fundamentally wrong and I believe unconstitutional."
This is the latest in apparent flip-flops by Gingrich -- from his position on intervention in Libya to his support (or lack thereof) of Rep. Paul Ryan's fiscal plan.


I think that Newt has something stuck up in his butt that moves from side to side, depending on what day it is.
Perhaps, he should use the prestigious congressional healthcare plan they he and his buddies get, and get his rear end and his head checked out.
Should be able to get it done with one X-ray.
Maybe too much Santorum?
I am sorry i made some of you mad when i said Christians....I meant to say..fake Christains...just like the scribes and the Pharisees..we have the same type of people in the church of today.
Newt is simply a "FLOP" (FAT LYIN' OLD POLITICIAN).
The only thing he's flipped...well, let's not bring the wives into this...LMAO!
newt is..one of the scribes and Pharisees..of our time...it was politics that got Christ and the disciples killed..with lies...and it has not changed ..full power is what they want...and they say they want small government...do you people ever ask yourself...then why do they want it so bad ..if the government is so bad...then why do they want it so bad..I will tell, you Power...its when a group of fake Christians who want it ..then that's when government gets bad.
Didn't he just get done saying that the key to him being president was his ability to be disciplined? It is impossible. He doesn't know what he stands for, and he cannot close his mouth long enough to know what he was for or against 2 days ago. There are political opportunists, and Gingrich is the worst kind.
I agree mad - the only thing that could make me stay home on election day would be a Newt vs 0bama contest. Well maybe not - Newt is the lesser of the 2 evils - believe it or not.
Don't believe it for a second.
funny Reagan said government is the problem....but it has grew the whole time under there watch...small government my foot..fake.Christian's love to use good words to geter done...not truth just good words of lies.
yeah elvis,first where did this idea of smaller gov"t crap come from?I thought the constitUion said,government,of,for,and by the people?NOT OF ,FOR OR BY THE RICH! gingrich and his rich fat cat buddies are the ones who took a surplus from CLINTON and turmed it into a deficit!COME ON VOTERS WAKE UP!GET A COPY OF THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD AND SEE HOW MANY OF THE REPUBLICANS VOTED TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO SHIP GOOD PAYING US JOBS TOCHINA,INDIA,AND MEXICO!that why communites across america are laying off POLICE,FIREMAN AND TEACHERS.I would urge you and my fellow americans to support PRESIDENT OBAMA and other politicos,no matter what party that support U.S.JOBS.obama supported theUS AUTO INDUSTRY WHICH BY THE WAY WON WORLD WAR 2 by not making CARSbut MILITARY HARDWARE! Now they are making record PROFITS and preserving millions of US JOBS!
Gingrich deserves the heightest award we can give him in flip flop order hall of fame. In light of the speed of the flip flop being 24 hours it has to be an all time record. Just think what that would for the military decision making, go, no go, go, no send them back, no we need to show are support, no we need alies, no we can go it alone, no I give up!!!! What a leader! Just as decisive as W Bush but without the conviction.
Q: How can you tell when it's going to be a busy political news day?
A: When the wind is forecast to blow the opposite direction that day.
Q: How can you clear the comment list of conservatives?
A: Post an article featuring Newt just being his ole self.
Amazing, I watched him on Meet The Press yesterday and he sounded rational and sane. I mean what he said made sense, somehow, someway you have to hold people accountable for paying for their own health care. I've heard people argue comparing auto insurance to health insurance. The argument is, if you don't own a car you don't have to buy car insurance. However, car insurance is sold based on risk, people of different ages, martial status, location and other factors determine how much you will pay for auto insurance. The higher the risk, the more you pay. If you don't drive or own a car you are zero risk, so hence no auto insurance. However, if you live and breath you are at risk of getting sick, so in this case you own that car, you can not be at zero risk until you die. So the comparison to auto insurance is a good one even though some don't like to hear it.
There is no comparison between auto and mandatory health insurance. You choose to buy a car, boat, plane, whatever and you are required to have insurance not only to protect yourself, but primarily to protect others who could be hurt by your actions operating the equipment or by failure of the equipment you own. Health insurance, as Obamasized, requires you to purchase something just because you exist, and treats American citizens as if they were government property, and subject to the demands of the federal government. What risk I take is mine, and as long as I don't hurt others, the choice to take that risk, is mine alone. The mandate is an affront to liberty and to the principles on which this nation was founded. Gingrich should know better; I pray he doesn't get the Republican nomination because although he is tremendously more qualified than Obama, there are many others I would prefer voting for.
Real--The key to your statement is "as long as I don't hurt others." Unless you choose to drive into the wilderness where no one can find you and die alone without medical attention, your final illness and death will cost others something. The hospital to which your sorry butt will be dragged is required by medical ethics and law to spend money trying to save your life. If you don't pay that money, the rest of us must pay a portion of it. What the health reform law provides is individual responsibility, something conservatives were for until Obama was also for it.
Old Vet - I plan to keep my "Do Not Recisutate" pinned to my blouse. I've threatened my husband and every member of my family that I'll come back and haunt them if they keep me alive beyond all possible hope. My husband has told me if he dies at home to make sure he's cold and stiff before I call anyone - that no way are they to put the paddles to his chest so he can be a vegetable in a hospital bed.
Good point Ret Mil
You can tell that it is true because the way the republicans fight against taxing stuff like fat (fast) food, sugary drinks, cigarettes and booze.
If you eat that crap, smoke cigarettes and don't exercise, (I'm pretty sure the Republican's great pale hope, New Gingrich, didn't get that way eating from the Obamas' vegetable garden) then you are far more likely to cost ALL of us money by using up the medical system more than healthy people would.
Many of us can control some of the most common and costly diseases (diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure... ) by just eating right and exercising. These are things that republicans HATE to hear because it means you must be responsible for your own health and if we all did that, heath care costs would be less.
LOLs I am sure they are going to call me a "Health Nazi" now... Keep your hands off our french fries... er I mean Freedom Fries... Sheesh.
funny retired military,people forgot that CANADA has had universal health care for years,and they are doing just fine. their economy is just fine.HOW MANY americans know that you cant sell in CHINA and KOREA unless you mfg. there?Thats why american companies are in joint ventures in all their mfg. there.NEWT is a race-baiting,double talking snake,who would erode the power of gov't to protect the little guy.just as BP did when it put profits before personnel. It took the PRESIDENT to MAKE bp set up a fund to comphensate the fishing and tourist industries.NEWTs position was the polar opposite.
Wow, this is just like Obama and Gitmo.
Newt? What a hypocritical weasel.
The Lizard, given the chance, will do to the country what he did to his wife.
Larry
Newts are amphibians like toads. Lizards are reptiles and I am sure Lizards everywhere resent your grouping them with that horrible little toad. (I am sure that toads aren't that happy about it either).
Again, who is surprised at this.
Heckuva job Newtie...
Healhtcare as we had it and have it wastes too much, doesn't cover enought basic care everyone, and isn't even enough for those of us wih coverage. Blue Cross, PReferred Care, etc can find work in other insurance games.
Bwahahaha...
Newt is the lesser of 2 evils ??? Maybe if the other guy is Nixon?
Obama isn't good enough to polish Nixon's shoes.
Get real Real.
Real
At least Obama can say the words "I am not a crook" and be correct.
Newt Gingrich is a panhandler with a cause. Give him some more money and he'll find a new cause.
Words that describe Newt, what an ugly name by the way!
1> Lyer
2> Cheater
3> Hyper- Hypocrite
Unless the Republicans come up with a viable candidate soon, we'll be looking for the return of Wendall Wilkie. Can you imagine any of the current crop trying to run the country? Newt asks us to look at his leadership. As Speaker of the House, he led us in a governmental shutdown because he got into a snit over where he had to ride on Air Force One. He then pushed for Clinton's impeachment on the grounds that Clinton got a blow job while Newt was screwing his young staffer. Yeah, that's real leadership.
FLIP FLOP!
Ah the famous Repuke back peddle.
You expected something different?
They say keep taxes down .... always when it is for the very wealthy .... they say to reduce government spending and the deficit .... never their policy under Bush-Cheney or when benefiting Special Interests. They say resolve the problems .... but only fault and block every effort. They want the average American vote .... but arrogantly cater to Special Interests and the few and together they aggressively spend unlimited effort and money to con and manipulate public opinion. The total middle-class seeks government effort to create jobs and to bring the economy back to the 2000 level .... but the Republicans offer only giving more to the wealthy .... even when Bush-Cheney proved that the ‘trickle down’ theory is a total fraud. The bottom-line is their loyalty is to the few, not to Social Security, not to Medicare, and not to the majority who they give only rhetoric to deceive and con. They use creative and even bazaar appeals to fears, biases, prejudices and emotions ... including with well sponsored and creative efforts to manipulate the Christian block, with the Swift-boat propaganda and now with the Tea Party extremes ... always highly emotional, with little truth and without any solutions. What can the people expect from the Republicans .... the decision should be to reject their deceptive efforts, to be insulted by and to refuse to be duped and manipulated.
Gingrich is a bag of hot air, he goes where the money goes, he has no more interest in the citizen of the US than he does for the Libya rebels. If I ever get caught with my pants down, I will follow his lead. I will tell my wive I did it for the love of my country. Gingrich is every thing you don't want in a president to be mainly stupid.
If Gingrich thinks he will get votes by lying just to be elected he is very wrong. I think we are all sick of the lies and deciet just to get elected to live in the White House.
Gingrich should have him picture taken with reid, pelosi and obama. That were he stands. If he is the only candidate the republicans can come up with, they should cancel the convention.
He's a clown with a big mouth. His fledgling candidacy is already toast.